Four of the department's six police dogs are new since July 2012, making it the youngest group of four-legged rookies since 2004, said Lt. Mark Mathis, who revamped the canine unit in the late 1990s and now manages its administrative duties. Two new handlers also joined the crew.

These young dogs are an energetic and swift bunch. They’ve gone through extensive training and have had success on the streets, yet their handlers are the first to admit the new dogs, between the ages of 2 and 3, still have a lot of puppy in them.

CANINE UNIT STATS

New dog numbers

The four new dogs had collectively accomplished the following as of September 2013:

• Responded to 3,733 calls

• Performed 811 times

• Assisted with 70 arrests

• Conducted 55 successful tracks

• Helped seize more than $58,000 cash

• Helped seize eight vehicles

Molding them from squirrel-chasers into street-worthy police dogs requires repetition and patience – and lots of treats.

"We went from having six experienced dogs that as soon as you get them out of the car, they knew what they were supposed to do. And then we had to go back to scratch," said Sgt. Darren Geraghty, who supervises the unit's day-to-day operations. "You forget (what it's like) cutting thousands of hot dogs up and teaching the dogs to sit and your fingers smelling like hot dogs for days.”

Geraghty and another veteran handler with a new dog had grown accustomed to canines that worked methodically and were efficient partners on the job. The latest additions didn’t even know their names at first.

“You have four new dogs and there is a lot more mental work and mental gymnastics in training that you almost forget,” Mathis said.

The department purchases "green" dogs from kennels that receive the animals from overseas. Dogs without training experience run cheaper than trained dogs, at $5,000-$8,000 each, as opposed to $12,000-$15,000, Geraghty said.

They're funded with money allotted from the department's budget and contributions to the Grand Rapids Police Canine Unit Foundation, a nonprofit that also covers medical needs for retired canines.

Comstock Park residents Linda and Tom Kozura donated money for the department to purchase Kip, a nearly 2-year-old German shepherd that started in June.

The canines are trained in-house. Handlers have to remember that every scenario on the street is a first for the animal – walking on a grated staircase, entering a dark basement, hearing a running semi.

"It’s not always easy to re-create some of these things in a training environment because we don’t have access to what you see on the street," Mathis said. "It is on-the-job training."

New dogs take about a year to hone their skills, Mathis said.

It's been a learning process for the two new handlers, too.

"The challenge is trying to train your dog and train yourself," said Officer Todd Wuis, whose partner is a 2-year-old German shepherd named Boris. "We got two left feet sometimes. We’re tripping over the leash and we’re trying to train the dog to do something."

Officer Justin Kribs, the unit’s other first-time handler, is paired with a 3-year-old rambunctious German shepherd named Bobby. He recently sniffed out eight pounds of marijuana from a vehicle that officers at first couldn’t get consent to search.

Bobby’s a “machine” when he stays focused, but Kribs jokes the dog has Attention Deficit Disorder.

“He’s got so much energy, it’s a problem to work through to keep him on task,” he said. “It’s more of a roller coaster than I anticipated it being. It’s still worth it, for sure."

Obedience comes with the handler learning what makes the dog tick and developing a bond. The dogs live with the handlers and become part of their family.

Geraghty, Kribs and Wuis rented a cabin in Newaygo County, where they immersed themselves in training exercises with the dogs for three weeks, save for the weekends. They spent six more weeks training before the dogs hit the streets.

Training is all a matter of harnessing the dog's energy and using its natural instincts as a tool.

"If you keep the attitude that you’re just the dummy on the leash and let the dog do the work, the dogs will make you look pretty good," Geraghty said.

Kip is the department’s explosives dog and Officer Rich Prince’s third canine. He’s excelled in training for being so young, Prince said.

Kip's a "goofball," but he's learning to be serious at work. He recently found his first handgun on the street - a stolen weapon a suspect ditched in a foot chase with an officer.

“I hate to make him grow up so fast, but that’s just part of the life of a police dog," Prince said.

Their hard work is all for one reward: Playtime. Kip tugged at his favorite toy after finding a loaded gun magazine and explosives during a recent training session in the city.

“The real dog's here," Geraghty announced as he joined Prince and Kip at the training location with his 3-year-old Belgian Malinois named Izzy - an athletic dog that sometimes surprises Geraghty with her quirks. Izzy recently jumped on top of a truck during a training exercise to indicate she smelled drugs inside instead of sitting near it.

Her training on a recent September afternoon started with searching a school for a "suspect." Building searches are the dogs' strong suit, Prince said.

When a canine enters a building to search for a suspect, the safety factor for officers is elevated.